Monday, 16 November 2009

Everybody is betting their life on something

I came across another smart person saying smart things again - on one of those smart people websites with the videos. He said: "Everybody is betting their life on something."

Man. It really is one of the most succinct, and frankly mindblowing thoughts I've heard in ages. Some tight copy right there.

Life is a gamble in many ways, and so often risk is the one thing that determines results and success more than anything. For instance, you cannot question someone else's love for you without first committing your own (another thing that brands ought to have learned by now). It's like a signal to the universe stating your intention to live, and deep down you know it's a gamble you have to take. Quite likely that the more risky option is to not risk anything at all, as people often can see the intention behind the action and find that all the more endearing.

But these are mostly not guesses or blind gambles. Like the quote says, the bet is on something, and that thing is inside you, like a skill or personality trait or worldview. Most likely it is a composite of those things, a broader intuition of life that grows and refines as you age. You say to yourself "I think I get it, and that's why I'm going to live like this, because that way will get me far.

Maybe you're super driven, maybe you just want to be a good person. It's about understanding and then believing, then forgetting everything you learned and going ahead and laying your shit on the line.